Every time I hear the band name Field Music the first thought that comes to mind is field recordings. This could not be farther from the truth, but the British band's melodies are in full force on their aggressive 20 song release Field Music (Measure). It appeared the band was either finished or on hiatus, so it was a welcome sight to know they are back in full force. The core member brothers David and Peter Brewis remain while Andrew Moore has left the group. There is a lot of variation in their latest release, and watching them perform live should be quite a treat. I can't think of a better way to start the week. Go to Middletown and watch indie music of the highest calibre.

Thursday night, Sezio.org threw a helluva show at Sushi Art in downtown. It was packed with people and since the show was all ages, it was great to see a lot of kids made it out to the show, not just because there aren't a lot of all age spaces in San Diego, but because their energy electrified the show. I was up front and bartered with a kid to let me in front of him to film, and though the kids were bringing back the pogo and slam dancing (without it getting into the more aggressive moshing), I was somehow protected from any serious bumping. There was some crowd surfing, too, but everyone was just enjoying themselves instead of posturing and elbowing to the front which really took me back to how shows were for me when I was younger.

The show started with Pictureplane, but I didn't get any video of him. Small Black followed up, so I got most of their set, then Washed Out did some songs alone before being joined by all the crew of Small Black for the majority of the set.

I haven't had the chance to label any of the videos from the night, but here's the playlist...if you wanna help title them, just leave comments and I'll update the YouTube page. Click the right and left arrows on the video to see more.

There's a lot going on tonight...Sezio has their show with Washed Out, Small Black and Pictureplane. Casbah has a great show with The Paper Chase, Kiss Kiss and Street of Little Girls, and down at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown, Yacht will be performing with Bobby Birdman. Unlike past TNT events, this one is $10, but if Yacht is your thing, you won't mind the nominal cover.

"Afterlife" is the second single off their album See Mystery Lights. They're touring with a full band which should certainly make for a more dynamic show.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The last time Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros were at the Belly Up, the show sold out and the show was absolutely incredible. Now with even more touring and some radio airplay, they're back and this time around the show will likely sell out even faster than before.

The show is April 15 at the Belly Up. Tickets go onsale Friday, but if you dig around twitter via @BellyUpTavern, @FM949sd, or @LegitRadio among others, you'll find the link to pre-sale tickets.

I wrote the title of this post hours ago, but now it's staring me in the face. I would love to believe that you went and saw such-and-such band because I told you to, or you missed a show and regretted it because I was there and had video and now you can only wish that you had been there. Whatever the case, I try to do what I do and I try to have fun. Ultimately, I go out to shows and write about my life as I live it.

I love Facebook and I loved Myspace in its prime and I write this silly blog and I tweet and I hope that you read any or all of my shit and are encouraged to get out and support live music in San Diego. While little tasks keep me going, my future is completely unknown and I really have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going. Fuck, I don't know if I'll make rent next month.

Frankly, it's almost as funny as me having to wear a tiara during an entire week of high school and argue with the rest of the homecoming nominated girls that brown was indeed a color and they could fight over red and blue and green, but I wanted brown, thank you very much, and furthermore, if you're gonna make me wear heels and dresses and get me out of my typical outfit of jeans and a hoodie then I was gonna set my own boundaries. And somehow that week I still had fun.

So there. I'm nominated for this award or title or something rather... And I'm flattered beyond words, but I'm me, and I never created this site with a goal in mind. These days I have hopes and dreams of being self-sustainable...because in this economy who can't be...so while I'll spew the typical "it's an honor just to be nominated"....It would be cool if my so called "influence" actually translated to a thumbs up, or votes, or maybe even meant something in my employment future.

All of that said, today is the last day to vote. All you have to do is click the arrow next to SDDIALEDIN and you're done. And I will thank you. And I will wear a tiara if you want me to. Even if you don't vote, you're here now, you're reading this, and I thank you. You keep me going. Are you hiring?

Plenty of you were at the Casbah on Sunday night to represent and saw an amazing show from The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. For those of you not present, I give you these videos. And for once I was actually somewhat pleased with my photos, so I'm gonna post those, too. Because I can.

I also took a bunch of pictures, so if you wanna check them out, click 'keep on reading'.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Ever since I saw Freelance Whales open for Fanfarlo in the fall, I've been following their every move (literally...they use twitter a lot). I bought their CD back then, before it was picked up by Frenchkiss Records. The label release of Weathervanes is April 13, but you can find a video for Generator 2nd Floor video, as well as two song downloads on Stereogum.

And naturally, I recorded some of their show at the Casbah back then. click the right/left arrows to navigate the playlist.

The band is opening for Cymbals Eat Guitars and Bear In Heaven on Tuesday night at the Casbah. The show is only $8, and tickets were selling quickly last time I checked so if you want to go, don't wait until the night of the show or it might be too late. They're lined up for a tour with the Shout Out Louds and OK Go, Sasquatch, and they'll probably be thrust into the indie festival abyss.

Lots to look forward to this week, but I have to say I'm really stoked for Freelance Whales at the Casbah on Tuesday. If you missed them opening in December for Fanfarlo, do yourself a favor and catch this band. They're on first which means if you're not at the Casbah by 9, you'll probably miss them. Listings for Tuesday-Thursday are after the jump.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

It was a rainy Saturday just a few weeks ago when Republic of Letters invited friends and fans out to participate in the filming of their music video. The $1 beers at the Ruby Room for the event certainly helped. I wasn't there until the last few takes, but it was a fun afternoon, regardless. I wanted to be more of "the crowd" than have any cameos, kinda ducking away from any camera, so you won't actually see me in any shots, but I was there and happy to be a part of it.

When one starts naming their favorite band of the week, the usual suspects tend to reside in indie hotbeds such as Brooklyn, or Austin, or the Pacific Northwest. Enter the unassuming lads from West Palm Beach, Surfer Blood.These guys are on quite a roll of late, while constant touring and radio play are fueling the fires making them a must see live act.Last Thanksgiving eve I had the pleasure of witnessing their live set at The Casbah and it was nothing short of amazing. In fact, due to some unforeseen van issues, the band barely made their set time. Things like this do happen, so it was on with the short yet blistering show. Songs were from their full length, Astrocoast. Heck, these guys hardly look old enough to down a beer or ten.Touring in every nook and cranny from coast to coast brings Surfer Blood back to our fair city, this time to North Park's Bar Pink. A friendly word of advice: arrive early since weekends tend to bring out the best (and sometimes the worst) of the many patrons at the small establishment. I am working up a sweat just writing about their upcoming show. For those under 21, you can watch an in-store performance with The Morning Benders earlier in the evening at M-Theory Records.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

If you've been listening to FM 94/9 lately, you've probably heard one of this month's recommended bands, Mumford & Sons and their single "Little Lion Man". Their album Sigh No More has been on constant rotation since I got it and I even made the trek to LA to see them. This is a show not to be missed, and at $8, it will sell out. Tickets go on-sale tomorrow for the About the Music show on June 6 at the Belly Up. Opening the show will be The Middle East and The Silent Comedy.

This is a video I shot at the Troubadour of Little Lion Man. You can see all my videos from that night here.

To everyone who came to the Soda Bar on Saturday night, I want to extend my gratitude for making it such a successful show. Boyscout kicked off the night with an incredible set, BATTLEHOOCH somehow managed to fit everyone onstage, Judgement Day blew minds and The Burning of Rome did what they do best in entertaining the crowd. We had Rodney on sound who was perfect in making everyone sound their best, and most importantly, it was great being surrounded by friends and a music community who value incredible live music. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for coming.

If you weren't able to make the show, here's some string metal from Judgement Day and a song from BATTLEHOOCH, too.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Looking at the upcoming week I found myself scratching my head for that 'go to' show. Due to the divergent music scene in San Diego I decided to recommend a band which falls into the genre I would call experimental. Xiu Xiu is the band's name and they are from San Jose. The one consistent component to the band is the front man, Jamie Stewart. A rotating cast of supporting musicians through much of the past decade has resulted in interesting, yet uneven, results. However, there is no lack of recorded output, with Dear God, I Hate Myself being their seventh full length.I don't profess to know much about their music but the songs seem to be heading in a more positive direction on the latest effort. Xiu Xiu's music is certainly different, so why not try something out of the ordinary: go to a show with no expectations other than watching a band that is not afraid to try new things. Maybe other bands would be better served by stepping outside their comfort zone more often as well.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Last week, I wrote about going to Upland, CA to see Rocky Votolato and Adam H Stephens. Well, I know I'm a slacker, but I finally uploaded the videos from Adam at that show. I missed a couple songs...I made sure to capture Elderwood at Sunday's show, and I shot some photos when they covered Wilson Pickett, but here's most of their set. (use the arrows on the sides to skip around in the playlist) Enjoy! And make sure to keep an eye out. Adam recently finished recording his new record and will be releasing it sometime this summer.

Tonight is the grand opening of San Diego's newest nightclub, FLUXX. While it's not generally something I'd cover here...the downtown nightclub scene is for the most part foreign to me...I had the opportunity to tour the club by day as well as experience a beverage or two on Wednesday night when they invited investors, friends, and everyone who worked on the project over the past year. The owner, Jeff Fink, took over the property that was once home to Aubergine over a year ago and completely gutted and meticulously designed the spacious club that is said to have a capacity of about 900.

I didn't take any photos of the spot as it's definitely a spectacle to behold in person. There are probably 50 different materials used throughout the space that give an earthy feel on one hand- like the foam "moss rocks" that adorn the top of the main bar, or the dark wood natural cut bar that acts as the counter of one of the two rear bars- to the almost Alice In Wonderland feel on the other hand, with pink and magenta broken glass behind the main bar, cloth flowers affixed in framed sections of the walls, and the giant light orbs that encase the DJ booth and infinity mirrors.

We kept hearing that the bar will rival anything in New York, Paris, London or Las Vegas, but the question will be if San Diegans are really looking for another high end nightclub with bottle service (in acrylic glassware). The sound system is incredible (and from what we were told, incredibly expensive) and really every detail of the club is well thought out...from the rising vantage points throughout the bar to the sound dampening ceiling, to the placement of speakers and subwoofers so that the sound is consistent no matter where you're standing in the room. The dancefloor in front of the DJ doubles as a stage area for live music acts, which in time might make it a dual purpose club.

Personally, I was just stunned by the materials. Everywhere you look there's something different...a wood shingle wall by the rear bar, bubblegum colored lamps behind the same bar, brick wall around the open circle dancefloor, white vinyl seating that can store the cushions if people choose to dance on the seats, and the giant seaworthy ropes that tie the whole thing together. Pyles kept saying it was like Disneyland for adults, and while visually and thematically that might be true, a club is only as good as its patrons. Will they come? I guess we'll find out.

It's almost here and I'm so excited. After seeing the Boyscout guys at the Transfer show last night, I'm especially looking forward to seeing everyone bring it. Boyscout will be taking the stage by 9:30, so get there early.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

So many good things happening this weekend, but specifically I hope everyone can make it out to the Soda Bar on Saturday night for the show I put together feat. The Burning of Rome, Judgement Day, BATTLEHOOCH, and Boyscout. Very exciting, indeed. The full weekend listings are after the jump.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I thought I should mention that The Silent Comedy and Transfer are co-headlining two nights at the Casbah starting tonight, and tickets for Thursday are SOLD OUT, so if you wanna see both bands share the stage in the same night, tonight would be the night to do it.

Tickets are $15 and tonight Mata Leon and Hong Kong open the show. Buy tickets here.

Monday, March 08, 2010

Sunday night, Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett took home an Academy Award for their original song,"The Weary Kind", written for the film "Crazy Heart". Ryan is playing a KPRI show at Borders Books in El Cajon at 6:45 on Tuesday. While I'm not sure you can still RSVP, I wanted to share an old video of Ryan from a performance at the Casbah in 2009. I've seen him a couple times and had the pleasure of slinging some merch for him, too, and highly recommend checking him out if you haven't already. Mostly it's just nice to see good things happen to great talents.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am a sucker for singer/songwriters from Scandinavia. Maybe it’s something in their water or the long winters that seem to cultivate such amazing singers. Until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of Swedish singer Sofia Talvik. After listening to a few of her silky smooth tunes I was hooked. Then to my surprise I found out Sofia was coming to San Diego as part of a pre-SXSW West Coast tour.

Not really a newcomer but rather a ready to breakout talent, Sofia has three full length LPs to her credit. Her most recent, Jonestown, is a reference to the tragedy that occurred in Guyana over thirty years ago. She is currently working on a fourth album which will be released this May.

Wednesday is your chance to witness Sofia Talvik in San Diego’s most unique setting, Acoustic Music San Diego. The venue utilizes a Normal Heights church sanctuary and the sound is terrific (been there many times). This is a rare opportunity to see a young talent and cure the midweek blues all at once.For more info visit www.acousticmusicsandiego.com.Watch a video of My James Dean below.

Tonight I took a little mini-roadtrip with Jeff up to Upland, California to see Rocky Votolato and Adam Stephens. Yes, I'll be seeing them again on Sunday at the Casbah, but Jeff offered and I'm not one to turn down a Rocky show, ever, and the opportunity to see him in a super-small all ages venue seemed like a good idea. I love the Casbah, but as Rocky has gained popularity in San Diego, the crowds are bigger and sometimes more boisterous. There's definitely a difference with seeing a performer in an all-ages space versus one where the alcohol is consumed liberally.

The weather wasn't commuter friendly, with rains on and off as we made our way north on the 15, but we had snacks (shrimp cocktail and Humboldt Fog and crackers from Whole Foods) and good music (Musee Mecanique, Rocky's new CD True Devotion, and Dawes) and Jeff had planned on dinner at an Italian restaurant on the same block as the show, so we took off early in the afternoon and despite minor traffic through Ontario and Corona, we made it in pretty good time.

The show was at a venue in Upland called The Wire, which is a relatively new space judging by the congratulations to the owners by the performers, and might be compared to Lestat's, Hotel Cafe or Tin Can Ale House, because it is long and narrow, though it had a deeper stage than any of them, and no seating. This was a benefit in my eyes, as we were able to secure spots up in front without any problems. The sound was great and they had great lighting (though a bit trigger happy on the fading in and out of said lighting.)

There was a local opener and I'll just fast forward past that band because I like to keep it positive. Adam H Stephens took the stage with a band that consisted of him on guitar, a female on bass (and cello for one song), a keyboardist, and a drummer. I love Two Gallants, and Adam's new material is very different than his old band. It's really good, and his songwriting is still great, but with a summer release, it would've been nice to be a little more familiar with the new material since I'm so used to the epic sing-alongs that came with Two Gallants music. Still, if you're planning on coming to the Casbah show, don't miss Adam. Actually, don't miss Correatown, either, because you'll get to see buds Angela Correa and Joanie Mendenhall share the stage. Plus, there's that alcohol thing...

The videos for Adam will take a while, but here's the setlist (as written):

No songs from Two Gallants as it seems Adam is distancing himself, perhaps? Or maybe it's an agreement with Tyson as they both pursue new projects not to go there? I don't know. Maybe I'll get the chance to ask him on Sunday, but he was particularly annoyed by the happy lighting finger so I didn't want to bug him. I hate admitting so, but I was pretty wasted last time I talked to him, so I'd rather pretend we've never met anyway.

Since Rocky performed solo, there wasn't a huge space of time for his setup, though he commented about how quiet the crowd got even for his soundcheck. Apparently the night before at the Troubadour was quite the opposite, so he appreciated the silence, though it could probably also be unnerving, too, especially since his latest release and subsequent interviews have been so deeply personal about depression and dramatic highs and lows that his life has seen in the last few years. I think the sing-alongs helped him to know that the crowd was on his side and just wanted to take in every note of every song.

I didn't get Rocky's setlist, as he's notorious for keeping it in a little pocket notepad that someone else had the brains to ask for, but I think I recorded every song he played, which would make the setlist something like this:

Note that there were no songs played from The Brag & Cuss or Burning My Travels Clean...so maybe he'll throw some in on Sunday's set. I should also mention that I had the chance to say hi to Rocky and his wife April before the show and they both are such sweet people, and genuinely grateful that we made the trip up from San Diego. Hopefully they get some sunshine while they're in town since it sounded like the rain has been chasing them around the state thus far.

If my gushing about Rocky here and on SoundDiego isn't enough, here are a few of the videos I shot of the show. I think we might be getting Rocky on Tim Pyles FTP show for a quick interview, too, so be sure to tune in and then catch him at the Casbah.

The rest are still uploading, so I'll insert them as a playlist later. See you at the 'Bah.